Folding stool



Oct. 11, 1938.

A. J. sHELDoN 2,133,047

FOLDING STOOL Filed July l2, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet l Ff' gl.

@www

A. J. SHELDON FOLDING STOOL ct. l1, 1938.

Filed July 12, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Played top-respective purchasers;

Patented oct. .11, 193s `lrloLlJiNo sTooL .Albert Jay Sheldon, iVillsbol-o;itl?. A

"npplicanop J u1yj12,'1937, semi Nol,V 153,225 y.

probing. (or. 15a-149.5 My invention relates toportable, folding-stools and V'rriore specically contemplates "an improve? ment `in the subject matter of` my UnitedA States u PatentNo. 1,972,668, issued septenriber"4I 1934..k 52 ':The patentedconstruction .embodies a com# VbinedV walking Vstickl and' seat which, when 'in 1 openposition, includes single .leg adapted 'to2 rest on the'ground or floor Yand supporta person" on lthe seat member. 1 The occupant of .lt l 1ese'at lo isrequired to balance himself, rsince the construction includes only a single leg in'contactwith theV groundand this balancing is accomplished fbyf in'v ajmariner fully explained in thef patent.

Itis fevidentrthat the patentedconstruction-lis riot'selfsust'aining in upright position eadyfor occupancy, and one'object lof `the'gpresent inveri v tion is to4k improve the patented constructionv'in this respect, i. e., toprovide 'anew''construction,Y 2l):- whicli will be rself-sustaining inposition for ocu l pancy, and which, when occupied, will not require the user-to steady orbalance the stool orseat Y the occupant maintaining his feet onthe ground l the invention witnthe parts disposed in open A related object of the present inventionfis; tofA providea construction which may be displayed, 25. in'stores, showcases and the likegirioopen` position ready for occupancy` This isa-feature notpresent in the patented construction ,'andfit s a ,-1 sence lfrornthe patentedconstruction hasjimj peal I'na'de` by the, device when; dis- Vpaired the a While it is Drove t0 regard the presentiamo: tion' as an improvementin therpatented construe-f tion referredto above, inlitsn broader aspects the' new invention is not'to'beconsideredto fn ev ex ,v

35,-. c lusively applicable to 'structuresfof the precise` f typ showrrilik the patent... On theicontrarv. the i present invention ,involves certainstructural Kre-v lation'shns and useful features, whichare Capable df embodiment in stoolsseats land thek like' sexier-;

40% ally.7 Thatis t o,say,r wlii1eA I preier'at. thepresent.

tirne toV embody the new .invention in'a con stlj`i`ic` -1 ,Y tion of the combined walkingstick:zuidV Seattype.. andhave soV shrnilnk it in the accompanying draws prior art.

50Y VOther advantages vandfobjacte of :the lpresent invention are'concered with providing af `folding s'tool'str'uct'ure which will occupy" al minimum"A of space when in ioldedfpo'sition andvwhicliwill" Y provide a stable and 'secure seatlwiien'the parts 55; are. disposed in opened position. j

'be of "minimum` weight .and maximum'strength and whichawill be'durable,Y eflicient` andfool- Further objects areto.y provide a readily foldable andfport'able stool .constructionv which. will proof. y V

In' theraccompa'nying drawings I have'shown a preferred'form of embodiment which has in' actual practice given satisfactory service. In these drawings, which form part of this application yfor 'letters patentand in whichrthe same Ll0V reference numeral is used to designate the same part infthe several views, j v Figure l1 shows a stool made in accordance with position,V ready for occupancy, the vview being 15 taken in side elevation and aportion of the struc@ f turelbeing-broken away for economy of spaceon operations fand Fig.l 'I ls-adetall view, taken on the line I-'-1V 30 of Fig.. 2;,showingfon an enlarged scale a preferredlormofhinge connection for the seat member andilegs. Y' i 'j ":Referring now tothe drawings, the reference numeral-Ldesignates therforwardleg vwhichis 35 conveniently.andpreferably provided in the form of' a single stick Vhaving a single foot portion 2 adapted to'rest on the ground or oor when the parts `are inv open position as shown in Fig.`1'. "Ii' the invention' is'ftobe embodied 'in va'combined 40v walking sticlr and seat construction of'thefgem erall'typey slio'w'nY inmy patent hereinabover'e- "ferred to,lthe forward leg I'is made relatively lo r1 g, t he upper portion, comprising substantially' one-half ofthe member I, vserving as a carrying 45 handle fotheA stool or performing the" function of a walkingH stick.r 'For thisl purpose thefupper end of the Velement l'is made curved or otherwise formed to provide'a liandle 3. "Tothe upper end of the'leg portion 'of the element l, about midway 50 thelength of :the element if it 'bekextended to constitute a walking stick, there is vattached oneV element .4 Vof' ahinge-connection mounting ,a seat member 5, conveniently made ofl plywood'V or other light rrigid` material. The cooperating .part of 65 the hinge connection, serving as the hinge pin,

may be provided in the form of a rod 6 secured taining the holes yreceiving the rod 6. This hinge construction is provided at the rear edge of the seat member 5, which edge is recessed to provide clearance for the projecting portion of the forward leg I when the seat member is raised on'the hinge 4 6 to open position, all as will be evident from a comparison of Figs. 1 and 3.

The extreme rear edge of the seatjmember carries hinge plates 9, 9 pivotally mounting the aligned ends of a rear leg IIl,'soY that this rear' leg is pivoted to the seat member to swing outwardly from the forward leg I when vthe stool is in the open position/shown vin Fig. ortoward kthe forward leg` I when the. stoolis in folded position as shownuin Fig. '3. The rear leg IQ may ytake any `convenient and desirable form, but I prefer to make it of stout metal tubing or channel or Vbar -sto,ck,-. formed in substantially`V U- shape as shown in'Figs. 2 and 3,150 that the rear leg provides spaced apartLfoot portions II, 'I-I.

In this way thefeet 2, II, II-give thestool threepointY oon'tact'with the Aoor or ground when the parts are in open position, and thestability of Y the construction and its Vself-sustaining properties referred to hereinabove .are realized.v i

To support the forward portion-.of the seat member 5 employ strut means conveniently .in the form of a pair of rod members I 2,1'I 2 converging together at their rlower endsr and there l Y pivoted at 'a common point to the lower portion ofthe forward leg I, and diverging at their up- .40

per ends where they are connected by a tie rod I3. Limited ,movable connection with the seat member 5 is effectedzby providing on the under side of the seat ymembera guide or runway for the connected ends ofthe struts I2. f This guide or runway is preferably provided by securing to theseat member a pairpfparallel rods i4, A.I4 which are spaced slightly below the under side of the seatImernber-and are closed at their forward and rear ends. In the space between .the guide rods I4 and the seat member :the ends of thetie I3 for the strut'members are disposed so that the strutmeans I2, I2 may beV slid from forward position at' the forward end of the guidesY I4, shown in Fig.y l, to'a rear position nearereto -the rear endof the seat member 5, as shown in the foldedacondition ofthe parts illustrated in 3. It is convenientto make the guide rods Ill integral with and a continuation of the hingeV rod 6 as shown in Fig. 3, the Aassembly (Lilo, f-IlIV being a substantially rectangular loop of relatively heavy gauge'wire. e i y n ,y VWhen the strut means I2 is in its forward position it vsupports the `forward ,part of the seat member by transmitting-loads in compression to the lower part of the forward-leg I. By locating the connection ofparts I2 and Irelatively near the foot 2, there is nol appreciable tendency of theforward leg I to bend under load.'V To tie .the .rearleg' I0 to the forward leg I and prevent excess angular separation of the legs', I connect a link I5 between the legs.'` The link is hinged to'one ofthelegs and slidable on the other so that the legs may be folded together whenv it desired to collapse the stoor. In the iilustratedembodimentr Iv have shownthe linkA hinged at I6 to the rear leg, specifically to thev mid-point thereof, and slidably connected to the forward leg I through the medium of a bushing ,member IT? pivotally connected tothe forward Y"end of the link and freely slidable on the forward leg I.

It is of course desirable Yto limitthe angular separation of the legs land I 'when the seat is opened, and this I accomplish by limitingthe path of movement of the bushingV I'I on leg I. It is also desirable releasably Vto connect the seat member to the ieg I` when the stool is folded. I accomplish both of these objects by providing cooperating'parts I8, I9 of a friction catch devioeon the leg Irland seat member 5 respectively.

The parts I8 and I9 become engaged when the seat member is folded'down on the leg and the part I8 serves as astop to limit downward movement of the bushing I1 and hence'the angular vseparation of thelegs I and III.

To holdV the forwardr and rear legs together and maintain the stool in the folded condition shown in Figs. 3 'and 4, I provide a latch` deviceY which may take the form of a forked'prong ele- Inent 20 vcarried by the rear face of the forward leg and a cooperating lug` 2|',having aV T-shaped Vhead projecting from the `forward-face of the VcentralV part of the rear 'leg I 0. Figs. 5 and 6 show the latch vpartsZIl-ZI engaged, the dotted lines of Fig. 6 indicating the positions of the partsjust prior to engagementr or just after disengagement. It will be evident from Fig. l that inasmuch as those parts of theplates 9,*9 which f carry the end of leg I0 project beyond the turnaxis of the seat member 5,-which is the hinge pin formed by the rod 6, the rearleg I0 is lifted,

Yor slid axially, when the' seat member is folded down against theforward leg YI. If this movement of the rear leg is ,effected with the rear leg folded substantially against the forward leg, the lug.2I will move( from the dotted to the full line position of Fig. Gand thelegs will be latch'ed together.V f

With the stool folded as shown-in Fig. finit may oe Y opened by striking the foot 2 against the ground or floor Vwhile the seat member 5 is disposed on the underside of the'assembly. Catch velements I8 and I9fseparate andv strutmeans I2 movesy forwardly in I4. The seat member 5 is thus disposedrinrelation to the legI and `strut means I2 asv shown in Fig. 1.A During this movement of the'seatkmember the leg Ill movesa slight distancedownwardly, from Vthe full to the upon the rear legY rfalls free of the forwardvleg,

bushing I'I dropping down leg rI until it -abuts stop'I8 and the parts assume the positions shown in Fig. 1.,.Y The stool is then ready to be occupied.

It may be folded byjsliding the bushing I'I upfV wardly along the leg I, thereby bringing the legs Illand Il together, with v,the latch elements r20V and'2l spacedvapart asr shown in dotted lines in Fig. 6, and then collapsing the seatI'nember 5 to engage the friction c atchf'elements I8 and I9, by which latter movement the lug V2| moves up under thekprong 20'with'the shank ofthe lug in the Yslot of the forked prong and the crosspiece of the lug straddling'theslot.Y In this relationship of the parts separation of the latch elements 2Il-2I except following'separation of,V the 'catch elements I8-I9 is` prevented.

Various features. ofY the .disclosed embodiment ,springy modified, and certain of them. may be entirely .t dispensed with, insofar asthe broad principles are desirable and useful and have been adopted and are shown in this application because they are preferred. Certain of these features are however not essential to an operative embodiment of the invention broadly considered, and theclaims are notto be considered limited tov such specic disclosures except insofar as may be required by.`

their express limitations. For example, the specific types of hinge connection employed, the specific form of the rear leg I0, the specific form of the strut means I2, and the extension `of forward leg l to provide a walking stick, are allV thought to be desirable features of the inventionv and appropriate subject matter for some of the` limited claims, vbut all such features may be of the invention are concerned., I claim: 1. A portable, folding stool comprising aforward leg, a seat member hinged to the forward leg and having a portion extending from said hinge rearwardly of the forward leg, means forr supporting the seat member on the forward leg, a rear leg member hinged to said `rearwardly extended portion of the seatmember and having foot portions spaced apart laterally with respect to the forward leg to cooperate therewith to make the stool self-supporting when opened, means` connecting the rear leg member to the' forward leg for limiting their separation when opened,

and cooperating latch elements carried by the forward and rear legs respectively, adapted to`be. lbrought into proximity to each other when the rear legis folded against thegforwardleg and adapted to Vbe drawn into latched engagement.

with each other when the seat member is theref` after `folded lagainst the forward leg. Y Y 2. A portable, folding stool comprising af forward leg, a seat member hinged to the forward leg and having a portion extending from said hinge rearwardly of the forward leg, means for supporting the seat member on the forward leg, a rear leg member hingedtoI said rearwardly extended portion of the seat member and having foot portions spaced apart laterally with respect to the forward leg to cooperate therewith to make the stool self-supporting when opened, means connecting the rearfleg member to the forward leg for limiting their separation when opened, a

forked prong element carried by the forward leg, and a T-shaped lug carried by the rear leg adapted to be brought into proximity to the forked prong element when the rear leg is folded against Vthe forward` leg and adapt'edto Vbe drawn into latched engagement therewith` when the seat member is thereafter folded against the forward leg. t

3.fA portable, folding stool comprising a .seat member, a forward leg, hinge means connecting 'saidrforward leg to the rear of the seat member whereby the .seat member 'may be folded down against thelforward leg'or opened to extend acute angularly therefrom, cooperating friction catch means fon the seat member and on the lower portionof the 'forward leg for` releasably securing said leg `and-member in folded position, a seat member supporting strut pivoted to the lower *portion of'said-'leg and slidably connected to the seat member, a rear leg hinged to the rear of the seat member and having foot portions spaced laterally with respect'to the forward leg to cooperate therewith ktormake the stool self-supporting when opened, and a link having one end pivoted to the lower portion of the rear leg and its lother end slidably connected to the forward leg and movable lbetween the hinge means and the fricl tion catch means on the forward leg.

Y 4.,Ajportable, folding stool comprising a forward leg, a seat member hingedV to the forward leg and having a portion extending from said hinge .rearwardly of theforward leg, vmeans for supporting the seat member on the forward leg, a

rear leg member hinged to said rearwardly ex- `tendedportion'of the seat member, said legs togetherhaving at least three foot portions not all of which lie on Vthe same straight; line when the legs are opened to operative position, whereby thestool is self-supporting when opened, means lconnecting the rear leg member to the forward 7 ALBERT JAY SHELDON. 

